A Bit of 90's Nostalgia

"We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time." -T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

We all know this quote by now, having talked about it on numerous occasions in Mythologies. I have found a song to compare to this...bear with me. The video isn't very relevant, but I don't feel right not including the song.

"Closing Time"-Semisonic

This song brings about a lot of nostalgia. I remember when I was about 14 or so, on one of our rare trips to the big city (Great Falls) with my Mom, I saw the lyrics "Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end" painted on the side of a building followed by a reference to the class that was graduating that year. This particular senior class had decided to use this lyric as a motto for their graduation. For some reason that always stuck with me.

Then I was introduced to this quote by T.S. Eliot. Although a rather odd comparison I suppose, I can definitely see the similarities. The quote that senior class used made me think of this picture, the Ouroboros

As college students, we all underwent the transition from high school to college. This is where I see the comparison between the aforementioned senior class's motto and T.S. Eliot's poem. We come back to where we started, Freshman year, and know it for the first time. Our life is just a recapitulating cycle in which we learn the same things over and over in different context. When we graduate college, we might go to graduate school, or even out into the [gasp] real world [end gasp]. We will continue to learn, whilst eating our own tails...I guess that might be little too far, but the Semisonic and the senior class of long, long ago might believe something to that effect.

Musings on Eschatology

"Thoughts of a Dying Atheist"-Muse

Those who believe in literal eschatology believe that the world is going to end....and that's it. It's over. Everyone goes. Those who believe in realized eschatology have an outlook that is a bit less bleak. They think that maybe the end of the world is not necessarily THE END OF THE WORLD, but is instead the end of the world as we know it...an unveiling.

This song illustrates the fear of an atheist as he realizes the end is near. He says "it scares the hell out of me, and the end is all I can see." Atheists believe they are just "snuffed out," for lack of a better term. When Christians die they are much more at peace because they believe in an afterlife. I couldn't find any statistics, but I have heard that many Atheists convert to Christianity right before death because the absolute end is just too frightening. I can't really blame them.

This can be related directly back to literal and realized eschatology. Literal eschatology can be likened to how an Atheist thinks about the end of the world. Realized eschatology is much more related to the belief that we go to Heaven and realize a different world. They are not exactly the same, which is why I am comparing them, but what made me develop this entire thought process was hearing this song last night. The part that strikes me the most is when he says "the end is all I can see" because it seems that those who believe that the world is going to end altogether (Mayan Calendar Apocalypse, Y2K Schwann's Man) become obsessed with it. Nearing the fatal date (12/21/12) we know that those who believe the world is actually going to END are going to be thinking of little else.

To end this post, here is another Muse song that talks more directly about literal eschatology. In fact, literal eschatology is exactly what this song is about. Not my favorite song...but undeniably relevant.

"Apocalypse Please"-Muse

"Animals are often employed as a vehicle for carrying away or transferring the evil" (Golden Bough pg. 626)

Simon has ever-growing concern for the time he spends competing for my affection with none other than Lilith, my kitty. As much as I would love to put a photo up of her personally, I do not wish to take the time in transferring pictures from my camera to the computer. The above photograph looks quite a bit like her-simultaneously adorable and stunningly evil looking. Maybe not just evil looking; I might venture to say she is a bit evil in spirit.

A couple of nights ago, Simon set about convincing me that my cat was possessed by a demon. He sited several different instances in which he believed she was acting truly evil and even had me convinced she was speaking in some sort of tongue at one point. He didn't actually mean to do it (maybe he was just bored and decided to mess with my mind a bit), but he made me a bit paranoid. Later, while he was off making merry with a friend, I was left home alone with the kitty. A bit altered in state (the wine was going down rather easy that night), I decided that I needed to look up demonic animal possession. With young Lilith perched at the end of my bed looking on, I began googling the topic. I clicked on a link and suddenly a file called "Trojanware"(a bit mythological) began to infect my computer. I looked up at Lilith and she was staring at me, purring.

OF COURSE I was freaked out...did I not mention the altered state? In my mind, I had been thwarted by an evil demon while on the verge of discovering its existence. Yeah, freaked out might be an understatement. I locked her in the garage and ran upstairs to install Norton Antivirus on my computer. I didn't fully believe in the possession, but was most definitely freaked out.

The reason I am blogging about this now is because I decided to try and look up animal possession again tonight. I found a forum in which a girl posts a question about the topic. Someone told her she could find information about it in The Golden Bough...and then a light bulb.

Upon reading the passage quoted above, I realized that it is not exclusively about animal possession, but more about the transference of evil to animals from humans. For example, "When a Moor has a headache he will sometimes take a lamb or a goat and beat it till it falls down, believing that the headache will thus be transferred to the animal" (pg. 626). This seems a bit unnecessary, but if beating lambs and goats makes a guy with a headache feel better....he is an asshole. After reading the passage I found, I came up with an altogether new theory.

Maybe the cat isn't evil, Simon is. Huh? I don't know....he is a bit rough with her. Maybe his evil is transferring to her when he messes with her. He could have been trying to convince me of my cat's possession to throw me off of his trail. Well I don't think she is evil anyway, Simon is a whole other story.

Sentences Book V & VI

For this group of sentences, I am going to switch it up and do newspaper headlines.

Book V

Perseus & Phineus- "Disastrous Banquet Leaves Many Slain And Many Stoned"

Polydectes- "Perseus's Pride Is Causing A Veritable Epidemic Of Petrification"
....Because he keeps doing this:


Pyreneus- "Delusional Man Plummets To His Death After Expressing Belief In His Ability To Fly"

Ceres & Proserpina- "Abducted Girl Is Returned To Her Mother...Seasonally"

The Pierides--Again- "Sore Losers' Protests Lead To An Unwelcome Addition To The Bird Family"

Book VI

Arachne- "Local Woman Thwarted In Her Attempt To Expose Gods' Atrocities"

Niobe- "Niobe's Excessive Pride In Her Brood Leads To Extermination"

Latona & The Lycinian Peasants- "Lycinians 'Get Froggy' With Thirsty Goddess And Her Infants"


Pelops- "The World Of Medicine Rejoices As The First Ivory Shoulder Transplant Proves Successful"

Tereus, Procne, Philomela- "WARNING: Article Includes Rape, Dismemberment, And Cannibalism; Parental Advisory Strongly Suggested"

Sentences Book III & IV

Book III

Cadmus- You actually don't see people's faces first when the curtain goes up.


Actaeon- A bit harsh, she could have at least spared him the sparagmos.

Narcissus & Echo- It is amazing how sad so many are when someone who loves no one but himself dies.


Tiresias- Juno seems perpetually gripped by PMS.




Pentheus- I don't understand how or when he was transformed into a boar.
[Just found out they only thought he was a boar because Bacchus had driven them crazy]



The following is a very graphic artistic rendering of Pentheus's head after being torn to pieces by the Bacchantes:















Book IV


Pyramis & Thisbe- A silly misunderstanding leads to a graphic double suicide.


Mars, Venus, Vulcan, the Sun- Brilliant revenge.


Salmacis & Hermaphroditus- Looks like we have a "stage five clinger" on our hands.




Athamis & Ino- Crazy people are much scarier than monsters.

Atlas & Perseus- Good thing Atlas can't shrug, being made of stone and all.